Scientists reveal cancer treatment vaccine success

Scientists in the UK have revealed successful initial trials with a vaccine that could be used for cancer treatment in the future.

Researchers from the University of Leeds, funded by Cancer Research UK, used doses of a vaccine containing a library of DNA with various gene fragments on mice and enjoyed a success rate of 80 per cent, the Nature Medicine Journal reports.

They had been worried that the vaccine may have sent the mice's immune systems into meltdown, however, this proved not to be the case.

Professor Alan Melcher, co-author of the study, said: "The biggest challenge in immunology is developing antigens that can target the tumour without causing harm elsewhere. By using DNA from the same part of the body as the tumour, inserted into a virus, we may be able to solve that problem."

According to recent research presented at the American Society for Clinical Oncology, the effectiveness of cancer treatment could be predicted by a gene fault, as women with faults in a gene known as p53 are 50 per cent less likely to survive following treatment with carboplatin alone.

© Adfero Ltd

Cancer treatment news : 22 June 2011